A strained scream rings out through the hedgehog family's home, followed by a tiny cry and excited cheers.
"You did it, Shads! You did it!" Starlight grins with excitement as he presses loving kisses all over a tired and dazed Sunshine's face as the darker hedgehog looks around to find where their newborn daughter's cries were coming from.
"Wh-Where...? Where is she...? Where is my baby? I...I wanna hold her...please just let me hold her..." He whimpers with tears in his eyes, his exhausted mind not quite realizing where he was and that he was safe.
"It's okay, Shadow. You and the twins are safe, everything is going to be okay" Manic says as he lays the whining newborn on Sunshine's heaving chest, who immediately wraps his arms around her tiny body to keep her safe.
"D-Don't cry...I'm here...I'm right here" He hushes the infant "You're safe...I won't...I won't let anyone take you away from us...I'll protect you" He says softly as he nuzzles his cheek against her's.
"One down, one to go!" Sonia grins "Which one of them is she?"
"Ariel. Her name is Ariel" Starlight smiles at his sister.
"Her sister will b-be named Molly" Sunshine says softly, having finally calmed down now that he was holding Ariel and had a chance to rest for the time being.
Sunshine was laying on his side cuddling Ariel close after the two of them had been cleaned up by Starlight, the tired hedgehog had managed to doze off into a restless sleep while his body was allowing him to take a short break before Molly decided it was her time to enter the world and meet her family.
Starlight was sitting beside his husband and their newborn, watching the two of them fondly while he strokes Sunshine's head, gently scratching behind his ears like he knew the darker hedgehog secretly liked, causing Sunshine to start purring softly in his sleep.
Ariel flexes her little fingers and gently grasps handfuls of her Papa's chest fur, burying her face in it with a tiny purr and wagging her short tail. Sunshine smiles weakly in his sleep and sighs softly, finally relaxed for the first time all night.
Manic yawns and glances out the window to see that the sky had turned the soft pinks and yellows of a sunrise "Morning already?" He asks aloud, sounding surprised by how much time had passed since this had all started "I'll watch the kids and get them ready for school if Molly isn't here by the time they wake up" He offers, earning a relieved smile from Starlight.
"Thanks, Manny. I owe you one after everything you've done for Sun while I was gone, you and Sonia both" The blue hedgehog tells his siblings.
"You don't need to thank us, Sunshine is family. He needed us" Sonia replies, soon turning her attention back to her brother-in-law when he groans in pain and opens his eyes.
"Ngh...hurts again...still tired..." The blue eyed hedgehog whines weakly as he turns over to lay on his back with Ariel still sleeping peacefully on his chest.
~Later~
"I-I can't do this anymore! I c-can't! Too tired..." Sunshine cries out in exhausted frustration. It was nearing early afternoon and Molly had yet to make any more progress in her entrance into the world and the hedgehog family were beginning to worry about the well-being of both father and daughter.
"Maybe we should get you to a hospital, Sunny. This shouldn't be taking so long..." Manic suggests, concern lacing his voice.
"N-No! No hospitals, please...I-I don't trust hospitals...they'll take them away..." Sunshine whimpers weakly, arms wrapped protectively around his stomach as he curls up around Ariel as much as he could to keep her close as she slept beside him on a small blanket, now dressed in a tiny yellow onesie.
"No they won't, Shads. Everything will be alright, we won't let anyone take either of the twins" Starlight assures his distressed husband, gently stroking his disheveled quills and firmly squeezing his hand to give him something else to focus on other than the pain and worry. "We're all here to protect you and them, Sun. Nothing will happen to them or to you, I promise," He says softly, trying to hide his own nervousness so he could help Sunshine calm down.
